Katrina S. Christakis

Partner

Katrina Christakis brings with her nearly 15 years of experience as a commercial litigator. Prior to founding Grady Pilgrim, Katrina was a partner at Arnstein & Lehr LLP, where she was both a leader of the firm's litigation department and the co-chair of the firm's consumer financial services group.

Katrina's practice focuses on the defense of banks, housing and auto finance companies, retailers, loan servicers, credit card issuers, short term lenders, debt buyers and debt collectors in individual and class action cases filed in state and federal courts around the country. Katrina also has substantial experience representing clients in general commercial litigation matters, including inter-creditor disputes, title and lien priority disputes, breach of contract actions, trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition claims, securities violations, employment issues, vendor disputes, insurance coverage disputes and antitrust claims.

In 2008, Katrina was instrumental in getting substantially all of the claims dismissed on behalf of the consolidated group of third party defendants in the Ameriquest Mortgage Lending Practices MDL.  More recently, Katrina obtained dismissal of a class action lawsuit alleging that her client's electronic funds transfer pre-authorization violated TILA.  She is frequently invited to speak on financial services litigation and class action topics at conferences sponsored by the ACA, the ABA, the American Conference Institute, the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, and other leading industry trade groups.    

Professional Activities

  • Chair, Programs Subcommittee, American Bar Association's Consumer Financial Services Committee
  • Former Chair, Debt Collection Practices and Bankruptcy Subcommittee, American Bar Association's Consumer Financial Services Committee
  • Former Chair, Consumer Credit Committee, Chicago Bar Association
  • Member, Conference on Consumer Finance Law
  • Member, ACA International, MAP Committee
  • Member, Illinois State Bar Association

Education

University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., 1997)
Northwestern University Law School (Visiting Student, 1996-1997)
Cornell University (B.A., cum laude, 1991)

Bar Admissions

State of Illinois
State of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan

Publications & Speeches

  • Co-Author, "State or Federal Law - Which Law Governs Over TCPA Claims?" MAPbulletin December 2011 (Vol. 17, No. 12)
  • Author, "State Chain of Title Requirements," featured in "The Future of Compliance for the Debt Collection Industry," insideARM (2011)
  • Speaker, "TCPA Year in Review," ACA/MAP Fall Forum, Chicago, Illinois (November 10, 2011)
  • Speaker, "Class Action Litigation Under the TCPA," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Grapevine, Texas (October 27, 2011)
  • Speaker, "The Least Sophisticated Consumer and the Materiality Doctrine," ACA International- MAP Conference, Dallas, TX (July 15, 2011)
  • Speaker, "How Creditors Get Into Trouble," Eighth Annual Housing and Auto Finance Workshop, Hudson Cook LLP, Baltimore, MD (May 3, 2011)
  • Co-Author, "Seventh Circuit Holds the FDCPA Does Not Reach Statements Made to Courts and Judges," MAPbulletin April 2011 (Vol. 17, No. 4)
  • Co-Author, "Recent Cases Concerning the Treatment of Attorney Debt Collectors Under the FDCPA," 66 Bus. Lawyer 551 (2011)
  • Co-Author, "Can an Inaccurate Proof of Claim Result in FDCPA Liability," MAPbulletin November 2010 (Vol. 16, No. 11)
  • Speaker, "TILA: Outside the Box," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Southlake, Texas (October 28, 2010)
  • Speaker, "Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices for 2011," DRI Annual Meeting, San Diego, California (October 21, 2010)
  • Speaker, "Prevailing Against the Latest Bankruptcy Litigation Claims," American Conference Institute, Dallas, Texas (October 19, 2010)
  • "Speaker, "How to Handle Disputes," ACA International-MAP Conference, Washington, DC (July 14, 2010)
  • Co-Author, "FDCPA Update:  Keeping Pace in a Changing Consumer Environment," 65 Bus. Lawyer 673 (2010)
  • Co-Author, "How Women Lawyers Can Win New Business by Being Themselves," The Woman Advocate, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Winter 2010)
  • Speaker, "Cleaning Up Your Credit," Chicago Public Library "Law at the Library" Series (pro bono) (January 2010, January 2009, January 2008, January 2007)
  • Speaker, "Cases, Claims & Industry News," Campus ACA Teleseminar (November 10, 2009)
  • Speaker, "Current Issues in Debt Collection, Including Ethics," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 5, 2009)
  • Speaker, "Avoiding the Latest Bankruptcy Court Claims," American Conference Institute, Dallas, Texas (October 27, 2009)
  • Speaker, "Foreclosures in Federal Court:  Motion and Pre-Trial Practice," Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois (May 18, 2009)
  • Co-Author, "Can Reckless Mortgage Underwriting Practices Constitute a Defect in Title," 16 Bus. Torts J. 14 (Spring 2009)
  • Co-Author, "Fair Debt Collections Update: Communications and Other Issues," 64 Bus. Lawyer 665 (2009)
  • Co-Author, "The FDCPA Takes a New Direction: Federal Review of State Court Litigation Practices," 63 Bus. Lawyer 717 (2008)
  • Speaker, "Balance Transfer Offers for Charged Off Debt," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 2008)
  • Speaker, "Telephone Communications: An FDCPA & TCPA Update," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (October 2008)
  • Speaker, "Legal Issues Surrounding Balance Transfer Offers," American Bar Association, New York, New York (August 2008)
  • Speaker, "FDCPA Case Law Update: Year in Review," ACA International-MAP Conference, Hollywood, Florida (July 2008)
  • Co-Author, "Federal and State Fair Debt Collection Practices Law Developments," 62 Bus. Lawyer 723 (2007)
  • Author, "Consumer Legislation, Regulation and Litigation Update," 61 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 4 (2007)
  • Speaker, "Firm Offer of Credit Litigation," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 2007)
  • Speaker, "Update on State Fair Debt Collection Practices Laws," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (October 2007)
  • Co-Author, "Suing Defendants Who Later Declare Bankruptcy: Vacating a Dismissal for Want of Prosecution," 94 Ill. B.J. 433 (2006)
  • Speaker, "Consumer Litigation Update and Hotspots," Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Honolulu, Hawaii (August 2006)
  • Co-Author, "Lender Defeats National Class Claim Challenging Collection of Interest on Day Payoff Funds are Received," Consumer Fin. Serv. L. Rep. (May 31, 2006)
  • Speaker, "State Fair Debt Collection Practices or ‘Mini-FDCPA' Laws," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 2006)
  • Speaker, "Illinois Credit Counseling and Mortgage Rescue Fraud," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 2006)
  • Speaker, "State Mini-FDCPA Laws: Enhanced Exposure for Creditors and Debt Collectors," American Bar Association, Tampa, Florida (April 2006)
  • Co-Author, "An Overview of HOEPA, Old and New," 59 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 203 (2005)
  • Speaker, "Creditor's Duty to Investigate Disputes Under FCRA," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 2005)
  • Speaker, "Update on Servicemembers Civil Relief Act," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Dallas, Texas (November 2005)
  • Co-Author, "APR Splits: Still Legal After All These Years." 56 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 296 (2002)
  • Co-Author, "APR Splits: Has the Plaintiff 's Bar Found a ‘Wrong' Yet?," 18 Rev. of Banking and Fin. Services 48A (2002)
  • Speaker, "An Overview of HOEPA, Old and New," Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Palm Springs, California (April 2002)
  • Co-Author, "APR Splits and Extra Points," 1241 PLI/Corp 535 (2001)
  • Co-Author, "Collateral Protection Insurance: Legislatures to the Rescue," 55 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 115 (2001)
  • Co-Author, "Offers of Judgment in Class Action Cases," 54 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 283 (2000)
  • Author, "Emergency Room Gatekeeping: A New Twist on Patient Dumping," 1997 Wis. L. Rev. 295.

View all publications and speeches

Katrina S. Christakis
“Value is integral to everything we do.” — Katrina Christakis
  • Phone: (312) 939-0920
  • Fax: (312) 939-0983